All Things Judging

We hope Judges, Lecturers and Clubs will find this area of use for everything related to Judging and Lecturing.

If you are Interested in Becoming an SPF Judge, please visit the NEW area below.

The NEW SPF Judges Liaison Officer Hunter Kennedy is also available to offer advice on Judging (click here)

Details of any changes to your Judges and Lecturer's Listing in the SPF Directory or PAGB Handbook should be noted using the form supplied below to the SPF Database Manager who's details are on the form.

Feedback Forms should be returned to the email address indicated on the Forms.

SPF Directory and PAGB Handbook

The SPF maintains a list of individuals from our member clubs who are willing to give their time to visit our SPF clubs as SPF Judges and/or SPF Lecturers. All SPF Judges and Lecturers are listed within the SPF Directory.

All information relating to the SPF Judges (and/or Lecturers) contained in the PAGB Handbook is an abridged version of the information contained in the SPF Directory. NB - SPF Judges and Lecturers who have travel restrictions, etc. are not shown in the PAGB Handbook - this is a PAGB rule, not ours.

For full details about how to book an SPF Judge or Lecturer along with sample booking forms please below.

Feedback Forms

These forms are supplied as part of a trial designed to give constructive feedback to SPF Judges visiting our SPF Clubs/Societies, and for SPF Judges to have the opportunity to give constructive feedback to SPF Clubs/Societies that they have Judged. The aim of this trial is to improve the Judging experience for Club and Judge alike.

It is not intended as a mechanism purely to criticise Clubs or Judges, but to let each know any areas of the process that they did well, and areas that may be improved upon for future Judgings. This will be particularly useful for less experienced Competition Secretaries who are often thrown in at the deep end. Many SPF Judges have also indicated that they are keen to receive the feedback, and again the feedback will be particularly useful for newer Judges.

Therefore Judges please use these forms to report instances of what you consider the Clubs you visit have done well, and areas that may be improved upon.

Clubs are encouraged to complete this form with the Club’s collective view, on how the Judge performed at their Club on the night, not the view of an Individual. The form should be completed by members of the Committee, considering these views but; They should also take in to account any factors that might have impacted on the night’s Judging (e.g. a late start/long break in considering timekeeping) and make a measured fair assessment. More examples will be given in a Q&A document (here soon)

Both Judges and Clubs should give credit where it is due, it is easy to be negative, and should consider their answers carefully to avoid offence. Forms received from a Club will be forwarded to the Judge and vice-versa. Other than passing to the SPF Officers administering the trial, all Feedback Forms will be treated in strict confidence.

These Forms are intended only for use by SPF Judges, and SPF Club Committee members on behalf of their Clubs. Only One Form per Club, per Judging please.

You can complete the 'Fillable PDF Forms' below using Adobe Reader. Simply download the form, and then open in Adobe Reader. Please note that these forms are both printable and saveable after they have been completed in Adobe Reader. (Please do not use your browser e.g. Internet Explorer as you may not be able to complete and print these forms online, and you cannot save them with their content - please useAdobe Reader to ensure you can save your data and print it out without difficulty)

If you have problems completing the 'Fillable PDF Forms' you may need to update your copy of Adobe Reader. Visit the Adobe website (click here) for the up to date version if required.

The SPF maintains a list of individuals from our member clubs who are willing to give their time to visit our SPF clubs as SPF Judges and/or SPF Lecturers. All SPF Judges are listed within the SPF Directory.

The SPF maintains three levels of Judges on their lists (As of July 2016 Judge's Meeting Approval). The reason for the introduction of the three different lists of Judges, is to try and facililitate more SPF members being able to gain practical Judging experience, at an earlier stage, by making their names known to Clubs that they are willing to Judge. This also gives Clubs more Judges to select from, and hopefully aids the process of more SPF members becoming SPF Accredited Judges in the future. More details are given below on the three levels.

SPF 'A' List Judges - These are both SPF and PAGB accredited and listed Judges. These are judges shown to have National/PAGB/International Judging experience. This list is also included in our SPF Directory. The 'A' List of Judges was the existing PAGB Approved SPF Judges as listed in the PAGB Handbook on the PAGB's own list of Judges page - Only the PAGB can approve addition to this list (See the PAGB Handbook for details)

SPF 'B' List Judges - These are SPF accredited Judges, and listed in our SPF Directory. These are Judges who the SPF has approved and invited on to their list, many following an SPF Judge's Assessment Day (or Workshop). These are Judges who have shown the SPF they hold both the knowledge and experience of photography, and that of SPF Club photography, along with the practical experience and skills to Judge.

NEW SPF 'C' List Judges - These are as yet non-SPF accredited Judges, and listed in our SPF Directory. These are Judges willing to Judge, but wishing to gain more practical Judging experience or before attending an SPF Assessment Day, with a view to going on the SPF 'B' List. A 'Questionnaire for Prospective SPF Judges' requires to be completed by all prospective 'C' List candidates to show they have the basic knowledge/experience required before they will be listed. It is encouraged that 'Feedback Forms' are completed by Clubs for Judges on this list, which may help them progress their status more quickly. More details are supplied under Interested in Becoming a Judge on this page.

We would ask all Judges and Lecturers to let us know as soon as there are any amendments to the details listed in our SPF Directory. (A copy of this Directory will be available with restricted access once our Member's Area is in operation). A Update Form is supplied for this purpose at the end of the listings in our Directory and also below in the downloads area.

You can send these forms to the SPF Database Manager, who's details are on the form, or contact him here SPF Database Manager Full contact details for are supplied in your SPF Directory or contact the SPF General Secretary.

The SPF are very keen to encourage more SPF Club Members to become SPF Judges, to this end we have introduced three levels of SPF Judges A, B and C (Full details available on this page). Since this introduction of the three levels of SPF Judges, there are now two ways of becoming an SPF Judge. Completing the below Questionnaire is the first step on that Journey.

This Questionnaire will be used for applications to either the SPF ‘C’ List of Judges or the SPF Judges Assessment Day (‘B’ List). If you’re interested in becoming a Judge, please just submit this questionnaire, don’t worry about how much of it you can complete. We don’t expect many applicants to be able to answer all of the questions at this time, but your answers will allow us to give guidance on ways you may be able to increase your own knowledge/experience, to progress as a Judge.

Initially, we will use your answers to determine if you Presently have the required skills to be –

Added to the SPF 'C' List of non-accredited Judges - If the 'Questionnaire' indicates that you require to gain more practical experience, or a wider knowledge of SPF Club Photography, before being invited to attend an SPF Judges Assessment Day.

OR Added to the ‘C’ List in the interim, while waiting list for the next SPF Judge’s Assessment Day, with a view to going on the SPF 'B' List of Accredited Judges, following the Assessment Day.

OR we may indicate that some further photographic/SPF Club/practical experience is required before you can be added to either list. If we feel you are applying to become a Judge too early, we may decline to add you to the 'C' List at this time but give guidance as required.

A copy of the 'Questionnaire for Prospective SPF Judges' is available to download below. Before submitting, please read the information provided in both of the following areas on this page - 'SPF Judges - C List' and SPF Judges - Assessment Day'

If you’re not sure you want to go out Judging on your own for the first time; Why not have a word with an SPF Judge in your area? They may be prepared to go out with you, or give you some practical help or advice. Or you may be able to go out with them to one or two of their Judgings, and see things from the Judge’s perspective, and gain some tips.

SPF C List Judges are as yet non-SPF accredited Judges, but are listed in our SPF Directory. There can be two types of Judges on this list at any time as detailed below.

Some may be Judges willing to Judge, but who require to gain practical Judging experience, or a wider knowledge of SPF Club photography, before attending an SPF Assessment Day.

Others may be on a waiting list for the next SPF Assessment Day, having already gained the necessary practical or photographic knowledge required to be added to that list, with a view to become SPF 'B' Listed Judges.

A 'Questionnaire for Prospective SPF Judges' requires to be completed by all prospective 'C' List candidates to show they have the basic knowledge/experience required before they will be listed.

It is encouraged that 'Feedback Forms' are completed by Clubs for all Judges on this list, which may help them progress their status more quickly. More details are supplied under Interested in Becoming a Judge on this page.

If you’re not sure you want to go out Judging on your own for the first time; Why not have a word with an SPF Judge in your area? They may be prepared to go out with you, or give you some practical help or advice. Or you may be able to go out with them to one or two of their Judgings, and see things from the Judge’s perspective, and gain some tips.

SPF Judges - Assessment Day

The SPF runs these Assessments for those interested in becoming an SPF accredited Judge. They are for Club members interested in Judging, but before attending you should have had some practical Judging experience.

The purpose of the SPF Judges Assessment Day is to ascertain if you are ready to be added to the SPF’s ‘B’ List of Accredited Judges details of which will be listed in the SPF Directory. This is our opportunity to see prospective 'B' List Judges in action, with a view to inviting a few new faces on to our SPF Judges list. Judging Assessment Days are popular, although slightly misunderstood - They are not intended to tell you what Judges are looking for, or how to Judge, but instead are an opportunity for the SPF to invite new Judges on to their list, or for those with some Judging experience to hone their skills. These have now changed their names from 'Workshops' to try and avoid confusion.

These Assessment Days are free and are open to all SPF club members, and must be pre-booked, but observers are not permitted. Applicants require to complete a 'Questionnaire' which should show if they hold both the knowledge and experience of photography, and that of SPF Club photography, along with the practical experience and/or presentation skills to attend an Assessment Day, with a view to be invited on to the SPF 'B' List. We will use the Questionnaire supplied to assess if you already have the experience to benefit from this Assessment Day. We try to run this event annually.

During the Day we will discuss with you the pleasures and pitfalls of Judging, what clubs will expect, what you should expect, along with presentation skills. You will be asked to demonstrate your own presentation and judging skills with practical presentations.

Please see further details below on the SPF Judges Assessment Day or contact the SPF General Secretary. Some Guidance Notes, as supplied to attendees of the Assessment Day, are available to download in the Booking and Guidance area below to assist all levels of Judges (See Judges Guidance Notes 1, 2 and 3)

Please see downloads below for Guidance Notes and Booking forms, for use by SPF Clubs and SPF Judges (& Lecturers). The SPF Judging Guidance Notes are an extract from the pack supplied to prospective SPF Judges on our SPF Assessment Day. Thes are also of interest for those interested in becoming a Judge.

Digital Images - Please remember to discuss with the Club well in advance of the Competition how the Club proposes to present the digital images to you - please do not leave them to automatically assume that because you are willing to Judge Digital that you do not have any restrictions on how the Digital Images are supplied to you - Please see the Guidance Notes listed below. If Clubs do not adhere to items ‘a’, ‘b’, ‘c’, ‘d’ & ‘e’ of these Guidance Notes, you as the Judge may refuse to Judge their competition.

Please remember that PAGB Guidance Notes for Judges and Lecturers ALSO applies to SPF Judges and Lecturers.

The SPF Directory contains some of these details. The PAGB Handbook also contains all of the PAGB documents listed below.

Please ensure you confirm what expenses are due to be paid at the time of the booking. An SPF Directory and PAGB Handbook are supplied to every Club Secretary and SPF Judge/Lecturer by post.

The PAGB Handbook 2016/17 contains Booking Forms (Pages 151 & 152) for your use when booking SPF Judges and Lecturers and also gives guidance for conditions of booking a Judge (Pages 110 &111), and the expenses they can claim. (Extra info for Lecturers are on Pages 44 & 45). There is also a Booking Reply Form supplied for Judges to note their details.

For your convenience the relevant pages from the PAGB Handbook are available below, or on the Library area of the PAGB website (click here).

A review of all details of our SPF Judges and Lecturers for the 2017 SPF Directory, and also the new PAGB Handbook 2018/19 has been done. If any Judge or Lecturer requires any amendment to their listing, please use the update form supplied below for this purpose - We require this returned as soon as any change occurs to ensure that communication between the SPF Executive or our Clubs is not lost. The form can be returned by post or email. NB - We will accept unsigned forms by email.

You can send these forms to the SPF Database Manager who's details are on the Forms or email him here SPF Database Manager or contact the SPF General Secretary for details. Full contact details for these Executive Members are in your SPF Directory.

Please note Re the PAGB Handbook the following restrictions -

- We can only list one phone number for you in this, please let us know which is your preferred number.

- No website wil be listed in this publication either. It may also be necessary to truncate Lecture titles for reproduction in the PAGB Handbook.

- Lecturers or Judges who's mileage restrictions indicate they will not travel to another Federation will not be listed in the PAGB Handbook

- Lecturers who charge a 'fee' (not just expenses), irrespective of the amount, will be listed accordingly (in a special section at the end of our federation listing). A small one off fee of £20 will be charged for such listings by the PAGB. This fee of £20 should be sent with your completed form, cheques made payable to 'PAGB'. Invoices and receipts can be arranged for those who require same. Since these lecturers are paying a charge the PAGB will relax the rule regarding the inclusion of website addresses. Note that the £20 charge does not apply to anyone asking for a small voluntary donation towards a charity. All that we ask is that lecturers who do request such donations advise the club up front that they ask for a charitable donation. Some lecturers mention this as one of their lecture lines in the handbook. Others do so with a note on the lecture booking reply form, email, phone or letter.

You can complete the 'Fillable PDF Forms' below using Adobe Reader. Simply download the form, and then open in Adobe Reader. Please note that these forms are both printable and saveable after they have been completed in Adobe Reader. (Please do not use your browser e.g. Internet Explorer as you may be able to complete and print these forms online, but not save them with their content - please use Adobe Reader to ensure you can save your data)

If you have problems completing the 'Fillable PDF Forms' you may need to update your copy of Adobe Reader. Visit the Adobe website (click here) for the up to date version if required.

Mileage Rates & Expenses

Current Mileage Rate - The current SPF mileage rate is 45p per mile, which includes fuel. (The PAGB rate is also 45p per mile, including fuel)

At the moment the rate may be slightly generous, depending on your vehicle’s mpg, but it is not long ago that it wasn’t – It tends to average out. Judges and Lecturers are free to ask for a lesser amount, but please do not assume that the next Judge/Lecturer will, they may need the full rate. Many are sympathetic to smaller Clubs. At the end of the year, Judges are likely to need all their expenses to cover all of their incidental costs e.g. evening meal/snacks etc. taken en-route not charged to the Club.

You will find additional details regarding Expenses and Mileages in the below e-news Judging special, and in the PAGB Judges and Lecturers Guidance downloads supplied above.

Additional Resources

A PAGB e-news Judging Special, which contains a number of different articles and viewpoints on Judging, can be viewed (click here)

SPF Judge's Meetings

An SPF Judge's Meeting was held by the SPF Executive to talk through the possibility of introducing Feedback Forms in an aim to improve the Judging experience for both Club and Judge alike. It was agreed by the Judges present that a trial should be run using the feedback forms for a year, and a follow up meeting be held to review how the process had gone. The Judges also suggested that as many Clubs/Judges should be encouraged to submit the Feedback Forms during that time.

It was also proposed to introduce a three tier level to our SPF Judge's list as supplied in our SPF Directory (A, B and C). Where A would be Judges who were PAGB accredited Judges (As listed under PAGB in their Handbook); B would be remainder of SPF accredited Judges as listed in the SPF Directory; C would be for SPF non-accredited Judges; The introduction of the 'C' list would hopefully give anyone interested in having a go at Judging the necessary opportunites to gain some experience. This would eventually encourage more people on to our lists, or allow them to gain experience prior to coming to an SPF Judges Assessment Course, or for those who attended the course but may have benefitted from more experience before going on to our list. The SPF would invite anyone interested in coming on to our 'C List' to get in contact with the SPF General Secretary (More details will appear here shortly). The lists will be split in to A, B & C in time for the next major update of the SPF Directory for 1st Jan 2017.

The minutes of that meeting, which help outline some of the reasons behind these introductions are available to read below.

Contact Us

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